Would it surprise you to know that, despite most organisations (and people) knowing more change is coming, only 40% of people think they have time to adopt new ways of working? More worryingly, only 55% of people believe that change management skills are being developed in their organisations.

That was the dismal statistic we were discussing in a change readiness webinar I attended last week. It’s based on the latest McKinsey research on the change readiness of organisations.

To put it another way, out of 10 of your team members or colleagues:

• 6 of them don’t think they can change how they do things and
• 5 of them don’t think you’re building the skills to do it anyway

I almost spat out my elderflower tonic (someone’s doing well!).

So where are we going wrong? Let’s tackle them, one shocking stat at a time.

Changing room

So, if 6 out of 10 people don’t believe they can accommodate change, why might that be?

Culprit one: change fatigue, which is code for ‘we’re knackered’

The amount of change we’ve had to accommodate with pandemics, global uncertainty, changing customer behaviours (to name only three) has been phenomenal… and people just don’t feel they have it in them.

They need to be heard and supported – the Friday Zoom cheer-up sessions were a sticking plaster at best!

• They need a future to get excited about – really paint the picture about why any change is worth doing, in their language.
• They need some certainty – break the change down into manageable steps to give their poor brains some certainty about the next bit. Celebrate a win then move to the next thing.
• They need a boost to their energy levels – in the way they individually get boosted. For some that’s scheduled time on their own to plan and reflect, and for some it’s social time with colleagues to generate energy and excitement.

Culprit two: competing priorities, which is code for ‘how many flippin’ projects?’

Based on the portfolios I see, trust me, you’re probably reaching your limits for change adoption. You might already be beyond them...

• Focus on the big value – cut the good ideas to only the outstanding ideas that deliver your results and your purpose. You’ve heard me say it before – there are no prizes for kicking off loads of stuff, just for getting it delivered.
• Plan for continuous, sequential change – not multiple, parallel, large-scale projects all taking brain-space, causing confusion and sucking resource.

What are your teams telling you about their capacity for change and what are you going to do to boost it?

Tune in next time for what you need to focus on to build the skills for change.

P.S. Are you itching to find out what everyone is doing wrong (and right) with change? Do you want to know how you stack up against other teams and organisations in trying to make change stick? Then look no further than the Change Confidence Blueprint.

This is a tried and tested blueprint that helps you deliver change cheaper, faster and with fewer people. A set of tools and techniques to enable you and your team to embrace change with more confidence and crucially, more success.

Benefit from my experience and the experience and insight of 23 organisations across 15 industries - including tech, Education, Sport, Motor, Finance, Retail, Building, Property, Manufacturing, Power, Travel, Law, Logistics, Local Authorities and Charities.

It’s flexible depending on your needs, so can be delivered as:

• Keynote speeches
• Masterclasses
• Programmes

Tell me more about Change Confidence.